By John Rohde •
Modified: December 31, 2008 at 6:38 am •
Published: December 31, 2008

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OSU's Dez Bryant sits on the field after an injury during the Holiday Bowl college football between Oklahoma State and Oregon at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN. ORG XMIT: KOD

"We lose some when Dez is not in there, but we have other players on our football team that we expect to step up and make plays," Gundy said. "I'm not going to say it doesn't affect our offense when Dez goes down, but we have other guys who need to step up and make plays. We were still able to move the ball some and be effective. We just weren't effective enough running the football."

Ten minutes later, Oregon cornerback Walter Thurmond III sat at the podium and said, "When Dez Bryant got hurt, it took a lot of life out of their offense."

Bryant hobbled back in for a couple of plays late in the game, but by that time he should have been given crutches.

Despite playing less than three quarters, Bryant still finished with a career-high and Holiday Bowl-record 13 receptions for 167 yards and one touchdown.

In the end, the Cowboys were done in by horrendous tackling and an inability to stop the quarterback keeper.

Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli finished with 106 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He also threw for 258 yards and another score.

After playing an admirable first half, OSU's defense crumbled after intermission, allowing 326 total yards and 35 points.

On the flip side, the Cowboys' offense managed just 219 yards and 14 points, which wasn't nearly enough.

The OSU offense began with Bryant Tuesday night, which meant the offense also disappeared when he did.

John Rohde: 475-3099. John Rohde can be heard Monday-Friday from 6-7 p.m. on The Sports Animal Network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.